Happy Toosday

Colourful ribbons, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

It's a good day today. I'm almost 97% recovered from my food poisoning bug which saw me ushering the new year in a nauseated state and spending the 1st of Jan lying down more than 50% of the day. So this cheerful picture of ribbons seems like an appropriate picture to head this post.

Health is wealth. I had my first meal today without puking anything out and despite the tummy feeling odd...I managed to hold in my food. Yay. To celebrate....I'm watching Arang and the Magistrate ( korean whodunnit)

Squished teddies

Squished teddies, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Surely you can find bigger shelves for these lovely bears? They look squished and unhappy. Found at Mercato Pavillion on a Sunday evening.

Did you know mercato has introduced baskets with wheels and a long handle so you can pull your basket along as you shop? I saw it for the first time on Sunday and yesterday I visited Mercato at Damas and got to use the baskets for the first time. Fun!

My birthday Longchamp

My birthday Longchamp, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

The new long champ is made of thicker canvas and has a gold stitched horse and person which loops around part of the bag. the long handle has two colors; blacken one side and gold on the other. And more importantly, the inside of the bag is not black. So you won't lose your stuff inside it. This is my birthday present. Yay. Aptly launched as a limited edition, it has the chinese character for horse embossed discretely inside. How smart of Longchamp is jump on the bandwagon of the year of the HORSE.

I love my new bag:)

CNY cupcakes

CNY cupcakes, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

How many more weeks to the Lunar new year? *count*count* About 3 weeks more. the shopping centers have speedily cleared all christmas decorations and we're now in the CNY mood. Everything is red and fiery and the carols have been replaced by Chinese New Year songs.

Even the cupcakes are adorn in CNY theme icing tops. I'm looking forward to another mini break from work:)

Madame Kwan

Madame Kwan, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Finally, I mustered enough courage to get a picture not just OF Madame Kwan but WITH Madame Kwan. Taken at the Pavillion branch on a Sunday evening where we had dinner. I recognized her signature hat. And she gave us a broad smile and waved us to our seats before her staff took over.

Her full name is Kwan Swee Lian. She was born in 1933 in Kluang Johor. And studied at Kuen Cheng Girl's School in KL when her family relocated here. her son Rudy an accountant now heads the restaurant. She married a doctor who sadly died in 2007 leaving her a widow. Interestingly she started off in the facial business initially before branching out to food. And she has about 20 hats and wears them when she is out. Certainly saves on doing the hair.

Mutton…a mistake

Mutton…a mistake, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

This started off in such a promising tone. I read the review at the back, as well as the first 3-4 pages and was hooked. After the first chapter it started getting less funny and I've left it for the moment.

I hope this isn't another one of my mistakes!! Will re-start "Mutton" during the CNY break.

* India Knight has an interesting autobiography btw worth checking out on wikipedia

Old!!

Old!!, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

I feel old. Being old to me means taking a while to bounce back to health from a weeny food poisoning episode. Today is day 6 and I've just vomitted my dinner out. I don't remember being sick for long last time. And certainly a bout of diarrhea and vomitting would last all of 1-3 days max. So this is twice as long to go away. Time to start thinking of taking some antibiotics I guess. It'll be foolish to go on like this surely:)

*picture taken at Publika at one of the interesting shops on the first floor above Ben's

Picking flowers

Picking flowers, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

This picture was taken during the christmas break. The main subject i.e. the niece can be seen marching through the garden in search of colorful and rare flowers. ( She had been given carte blanche earlier by the doting grannie )

She is dressed in bright fluorescent pink jeans which were the only ones which fitted her frame. During jean-shopping, and after trying at least 3 different jeans, she then piped out loudly " I want slim jeans"....is that baby talk for skinny jeans?

* garden is in Pahang. the dry part. Unlike Kuantan we were spared the torrential relentless rain. And the dry weather dominated the 2 week break

The start of the new year

The start of the new year, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Loads of activity in Midvalley this evening. CNY shopping has seamlessly continued from the Christmas shopping. Where is the recession I ask you? I'm looking forward to CNY only because it's an excuse to rest. I seriously think the food poisoning has sapped more than just my usual energy

Jigsaw addiction

Jigsaw addiction, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

I was down with bad ( am not exaggerating) diarrhea courtesy of some food poisoning the day before 2014. And on the first day of the year, I was mostly horizontal with some visits to the loo. I was also  as limp as a rag and in a foul mood being stuck indoors on what was meant to be a break from work and a reason to head out.

Fully recovered today….( and about time too). And I'm thinking of places I can buy jigsaw puzzles. I want to do another one during the CNY break. Any ideas? This current one was bought in Barcelona.

The christmas break 2013

Candy crush addiction, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

It was absolutely gorgeous not doing anything during the break. Not only that, we were blessed with an invite for christmas barbecue and here is the cake we had that evening. Cute yes? I'm currently making slow progress on candy crush. All moves end in failure. Whoever had this idea for this cake is a genius . Don't you like it too?

Flat Tire

Flat Tire Drama on the 403, originally uploaded by The Bees.

I had a flat tire this afternoon. Just as I made it through the heavy rain and traffic and parked in Midvalley…I exited car only to find the front right tire was sadly devoid of air. The shopping and lunch was put on hold whilst I drove to the nearest petrol station to get some air in. The nearest being Bangsar's Shell station. It was pouring and this current car has no umbrella in it. As I successfully parked and set the correct pressure and pumped air…one very kind attendant went into the shop and came out with an umbrella for me and eventually pumped the tire for me. Wasn't that sweet?

He asked what the problem was. I then drove to Tom's workshop right smack next to Shell and got the problem investigated; turns out it was a faulty valve which can be changed. The car alarm went off ( yawn yes it's a wonky system only we in the family know how to stop) but the folks there were all smiley and friendly. After paying and as I started to drive off, the worker as he waved me off said " All your tires are kinda old ". *laugh* yes yes I really should get them sorted out before CNY.

The flat tire was a hiccup but it brought me in contact with some nice decent and helpful people. Happy New Year 2014